Seventh Sanctum Side Prequal: Phantom Memories
by Aureole Sapientium
Summary: A side story to the increasingly popular fanfic 'That's a bit optimistic' written by 'InsertDecentNameHere'. This is the story of Marvin Fortune, aka 'The Phantom', before his fateful meeting with 'Seventh Sanctum'.
1. Chapter 1 Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own **'Fairy Tail'** or the backdrop this story is based off of, and neither do I own any characters that might appear in this story that wasn't created by me.

Acknowledgement: This story is based off a fanfic for **'Fairy tail'** called **'****That's a bit optimistic'** written by '**InsertDecentNameHere'**, whom I would like to thank for giving me permission to write this story.

WARNING: Since this story is a separate project, spoilers to 'The Phantom' may or may not be present.

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><p><strong>Chapter one: Memories are like the shadows of a fire<strong>

[Imagine cool song]

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><p><strong>Marvin walked through a torch lit hallway of his guild's building, his boots echoing softly off the thick brick stone walls and floor. It was still day light outside, but the guild's hidden hideout was located at the side of a mountain, with most sections of the guild actually inside the mountain itself, so it was necessary to use torches to keep the place well lit.<strong>

**Still, the flickering flames could not keep the persistent shadows from lingering in these dark corridors, and if Marvin wasn't familiar with the layout of this particular section of the guild, he would have been lost in the endless fake turns and dead ends designed to confuse and deter any unwanted visitors.**

**The going wasn't easy, though, even if one knew the way. The main hallway had turns and bumps in the roads, giving the place an abandon atmosphere. This was also a trap – the path looked so unused that any intruder wouldn't in their wildest imaginations believe that this was the right way.**

**This, however, made the path extremely troublesome to use. The walls closed in than retreated away from each other at random intervals, and the roof and floor seemed to follow suit, widening and narrowing the corridor, sometimes so much that even Marvin, with his height of 5 foot 7, had to bent down just to squeeze through.**

**Not for the first time, Marvin questioned his reason for doing this: do I really want this? Aren't I happy with the way things are right now? Isn't my life now enjoyable? Peaceful?**

**Perfect?**

**Yes, he realised. The answer to all of these questions was yes. He pushed on though, regardless of the consequences to his now blissful life. He wouldn't forget; he **_**couldn't**_** forget his reason for doing this, not with the flames all around him.**

**Not when the flames compelled him to remember****…**

Sixteen years ago

Midnight, in a house in the middle of the woods.

"**Please, we need more time!" pleaded a man kneeling on the floor. He looked to be in his mid 30s, with dark brown hair, dark eyes, and the start of a beard. He wore a grey shirt, brown leather pants, and an apron, the kind blacksmiths used to protect their cloths from catching fire.**

**That, however, wasn't going to protect him from the double edge sword that erupted from his chest. A thin man with black wild haired lean in and whispered into the surprised man's ear, "I hate people who beg," before pulling out his blood stained sword. The man, however, was already too far gone to hear as he collapsed onto the stone floor of his house.**

**His wife started to scream, but the brute restraining her from behind reached around her neck and snapped it like a twig. She fell, tears flowing, onto the cold floor, slipping into the even colder embrace of death before hitting the ground.**

"**I warned ye not to scream," said the brute, a giant of a man with a strip of green hair down his otherwise bold head.**

**The brute looked around and asked the thin man, "That all of em?"**

**The thin man nodded, "Shell we call for the boss?"**

"**The 'boss' is already here," said a rich voice from the door.**

**It swung open and they both turned to regard a tall, fragile looking man with a grey goatee and moustache. He wore a tight, dark purple overcoat, with an elaborate collar and ended inches from the ground with two forges coming out the back end. He had an equally purple tall hat on his head, and had a golden monocle on his left eye. His hands were adored in stainless white gloves, and he had a black cane with a golden handle in his right hand.**

**All in all, he looked like the spitting image of the stereotypical English man.**

**He walked inside, his custom made black leather boots not making a sound. He looked around the house, his violet eyes scanning the room. He regarded the bodies of the two former owners of the house like they were nothing but trash, and said to the two, "Cover that up. We don't need the boy seeing that and remembering this in the future."**

**His two henchmen moved to obey, while he focused on the closet set to the far wall of the living area.**

**He nodded to his two henchmen when they were done and gave a simple, emotionless command, "Burn it down." He then walked over to the closet as the two started trashing the place, throwing the wooden furniture into a pile. He opened the closet and squatted down to regard the youth inside.**

**He had short hair that was as white as his mothers, and deep yellow eyes that seemed to see more than he should. He was sitting on the closet's wooden floor, hugging his legs.**

"**Hello there," he said while smiling at the small boy. "You must be Marvin. You dad told me about you. I'm Lawrence, a friend of your father. Has he mentioned me before?"**

**The boy shook his head, and Lawrence's smile widened, "That's okay, now you know who I am. You father asked me to take you away from here. He asked you to follow me."**

"**Where papa?" he asked, his voice uncertain, the voice of a frighten child.**

"**Your father and mother went to a faraway place, and they asked me to take care of you."**

**The youth seemed to think it over, most likely still doubting his story.**

**A whistle from the brute and the growing heat at his back signalled to Lawrence that the fire was now growing, and they had to go, now. Worst, the boy had caught a glimpse of the flames, and was starring at it intently.**

**Lawrence played his trump card, "Your father said that if you come with me, you can have all the candy you can eat."**

**The boy turned to regard Lawrence, his face brightening up, "Can'di?"**

**Lawrence nodded, "Yes, candy."**

**The child beamed and cried out happily, "Ya, can'di!" He reached his tiny hands towards Lawrence who laughed, "You can't walk yet, can you? Alright then." He pulled in youth into his arms and carried him off, careful to shield his eyes from the flames and the cloth covering his parents.**

**With the boy secure in his arms, Lawrence and his two henchmen walked away from the raging inferno that was the boy's house, the fire so intense it caused their shadows to lengthen into strange shapes. He looked down at the boy, into the boys eyes, and in the fire's glow saw in them confirmation of his feelings.**

**The boy was full to the brim with magic, causing his eyes to glow slightly.**

'_**He will make an excellent apprentice,"**_** thought Lawrence as he walked towards his carriage, the thought that he had just murdered two innocent people for their child didn't once cross his mind, replaced instead by one of a small boy less than six months old using magic.**

**A boy with deep, yellow eyes.**

Two years later…

On a mountainside overlooking the fishing town of Syra

**Three years old Marvin stood next to his magic mentor, Lawrence, on one of the many mountains that surrounded Syra. A cold autumn breeze swap across the mountainside, forcing Marvin to pull his fur coat closer around himself. His master was wearing his usual purple overcoat, but the frigid air didn't seem to bother him in the slightest. The winds bent the grass blades as they passed, heading towards the sea.**

**There were little to no clouds that night, and the full moon was visible in all her glory, out shining all the stars in the dark sky. That, however, wasn't the reason why Marvin could so easily make out the shapes that were the townsfolk.**

**It was ten o'clock, but the town was still buzzing with excitement. Everyone was rushing, some out into the harsh forests lining the mountainsides, others out to sea on their fishing boats. They were all rushing towards different locations, but they were doing so for the exact same reason. It was the same exact reason why Marvin could see them even from the distance he was at, and why the moon seemed to glow red.**

**The whole town was on fire.**

**No one had made a move to stop the flames, though, not even when it had just started. It wasn't so much as they didn't want to, however; they simply couldn't, not when these fires were inextinguishable.**

**And certainly not when the cause of the inferno – a raging beast the size of a mountain– was still rampaging in the middle of the town.**

**Through the flames, Marvin could catch glimpses of the being: large bone-like protrusions outlined the full length of its spine. It had four massive arms with hands as large as houses, each ending in five talon-tipped fingers. A large blade-like protrusion adored each of its elbows. It had no legs; its waist connected instead to a serpent-like tail.**

**Its body was covered in scales, with eight spider legs erupting from its side and covering its muscular chest. Four leathery wings sprouted out of its back, and an array of spikes circled like a crown atop a wolf-like head with a mouth filled with razor sharp canines. Other then the spikes on its head, the talons of its hands, and the spider legs of its chest which were all ivory white, the rest of it were different shades of black, as if it took in the light and refused to release it, imprisoning it forever.**

**Except for its eyes, which Marvin thought were its most noticeable feature. They were crimson, as red as blood itself; those eyes alone made Marvin shiver more than anything else.**

"**It's beautiful, isn't it?" his mentor said, gesturing towards Daímotheós, for that was the quartergod's name.**

**Instead, Marvin looked out to sea. Indeed it was beautiful – the moonlight shining off the ocean surface, the stars that glittered like diamonds overhead, the majestic mountains all around them, all visible from their vantage point, affording them a panoramic view of the area.**

"**It is, master... but should we be admiring the scenery right now?" Marvin asked, misunderstanding his mentor.**

"**Quite right, my boy; indeed we shouldn't," replied Lawrence, misinterpreting Marvin's comment.**

**He took one last look at the scene before him, before descending the slope towards the town, "Right, you stay here, my boy, while I deal with the beast."**

"**But master, how are you going to fight that?" asked Marvin, concern saturating his voice.**

**Lawrence stopped and turned slightly to face his apprentice. He reached into his overcoat's pocket and pulled out a blank tarot card.**

"**Watch, Marvin. Watch and learn," and with that, he jumped up into the air, his overcoat trailing behind him.**

**With that one jump, he landed twenty feet away. He repeated the jumps four additional times before he landed at the town's main entrance. After adjusting his attire, he walked in.**

**Marvin didn't know what happened next. All he could see was a huge complex of purple magical circles that had appeared above the monsters head. They bathed the beast in violet light, and he could hear the quartergod howl in anguish, as if resisting the rays. After a few seconds, the light intensified from a bright purple to a brilliant white, and Marvin had to cover his eyes or risk going blind.**

**Finally, after a couple minutes, the light started to abide. As the glow faded, Marvin opened his eyes to find the monster gone. It had simply vanished, and in doing so had taken the flames with it, leaving behind the husk of what was once a vibrant town.**

**He saw something drop his way, and realised when it landed that it was his master. He ran over as Lawrence dusted off his overcoat.**

**The first thing he asked when he got near was, "Master, master! What happened to the big, scary monster? What did you do to make it go away? Come on, tell me!"**

**Lawrence laughed and showed Marvin a tarot card. It was the blank card, only it wasn't black anymore; a monster was drawn onto its front. A monster that looked eerily similar to the one that had terrorised a small fishing town not two minutes ago. The bottom of the card had the words ****'**Daímotheós**'** **written onto it.**

"**Wow!" shouted Marvin in excitement, "How did you do that, master?"**

"**That, my boy is a new tarot technique I created," said Lawrence while winking at an awestruck Marvin, "It allows me to seal a creature inside a tarot card. I call it 'Sealing', and you can learn it, too."**

"**Really master! I can learn how to trap big bad monsters inside cards as well?"**

"**Why, yes. But you first have to master the basics of card magic and become a powerful mage. Can you do that?"**

**Marvin nodded earnestly, "Yes, master. I'll become the most powerful tarot mage in the whole of Earth land!"**

**Lawrence laughed and tussled Marvin's hair, "I know you will, kid."**

'_**That's why I chose you to be my apprentice,'**_** he finished in his thoughts as he turned to walk away.**

**Marvin followed suit, thinking he great master had saved the lives of the townsfolk, when in truth Lawrence sealed the beast for his own personal reasons.**

**Such thoughts, however, were impossible for the youth, who saw Lawrence as the man who saved him from his parent's murderer.**

**For that was what Lawrence had told him, and Lawrence wouldn't lie to him.**

**With their backs to the town, the pair walked away. And so no one was there to see the meteor shower over the horizon, as if the heavens were moaning the lost of****… what?**

**The lost of the town; or the lost of a child's happiness?**

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><p>[Imagine cool song]<p>

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><p>And that ends chapter one! Like it or hate it, please review!<p>

Also, **HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!**


	2. Chapter 2 Are

Ar! I hate getting sick! It hinders one's… ability… to… think… hmm, what? Oh right, the disclaimers. Here they are.

Disclaimer: I do not own **'Fairy Tail'** or the backdrop this story is based off of, and neither do I own any characters that might appear in this story that wasn't created by me.

Acknowledgement: This story is based off a fanfic for **'Fairy tail'** called **'****That's a bit optimistic'** written by '**InsertDecentNameHere'**, whom I would like to thank for giving me permission to write this story.

WARNING: Since this story is a separate project, spoilers to 'The Phantom' may or may not be present.

BTW, this chapter is kinda boring, but I had no choice – it's essential to the story... kinda, so without further ado, here's chapter two! Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter two: They are illusions of the past<strong>

[Imagine cool song]

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><p>(Two years after Daímotheós was sealed)<p>

(Back at the guild)

**Marvin**** sat crossed legs in a magic circle he had drawn on the stone floor of his private chambers. It was crudely made, having nothing to draw with except the wax that dripped off the candles as they melted.**

**Six such candles now burned, the only source of illumination in the otherwise dark room. Each was placed at a corner of the circle to form a perfect hexagonal, as well as the points for a six pointed star that was created by also using wax inside the circle. In the middle of this sat Marvin, eyes closed.**

**Two weeks ago, he had stumbled upon a book in the guild's archives (of stolen books) on the subject of illusionary magic, documenting its uses and methods on how to wield such magic. Marvin was fascinated on the subject, and wanted to learn more. However, he didn't think his master would approve, so he had stolen the book and set out to learn the art by himself.**

**Now, after two weeks of sleepless nights doing research and experiments, all his hard work accumulated in this one moment.**

**He took a deep breath and concentrated, conquering up the image of a card in his mind. After a few mind bending minutes, he opened his eyes to see… nothing.**

**Undeterred, he tried again, this time concentrating for almost half an hour, trying to project the image of a card out in front of him.**

**He opened his eyes, and was greeted with the jaw dropping, disbelieving, unimaginable image of nothingness.**

**Frustrated, he smashed his fist against the floor, accidentally scraping off part of the circle; the circle with which he was using as barrier to control his magical energies as he let it run loose.**

**A sudden gust of wind swapped through his room, seemingly coming out of the walls. It was so strong that it threatened to flip his heavy wooden bed over. The gale started swirling, carrying some of his books and clothes around like a hurricane.**

**Through all the chaos, Marvin noticed that the candles were the only thing unaffected by the storm.**

**A thought occurred to him: **_**'What if the candles are the ones taming the magic, and the circle was just a medium used to expand their area of influence?'**_

**He immediately****set his theory to the test. He connected himself to the candles through the surviving lines. Then, since the magic running wild was that of his own, he opened up his mind, allowing it to channel through his body into the candles.**

**The winds seem to gather around him, swirling above his head. Small tendrils appeared and connected onto his back.**

**With the wildly behaving magic connected to him, and him connect to the candles, he started funneling the chaotic energies into the candles, where they were contained and could be controlled.**

**Then, as he has just started, images started appearing around him: tarot cards, orbs of fire, burning clouds, among other things. The most notable one was that of his master, his face full of disappointment. They appeared to be a random bunch, but then Marvin saw a pattern: they were his thoughts, or more specifically, his thoughts on what he would feel if he was found out practicing a new magic, alone, without his master's approval.**

'_**So that's how you do it,'**_** thought Marvin, **_**'it's not about projecting the illusion out of one's mind, but the sensation that the illusion is trying to convey. Interesting.'**_

**That sorted out, he closed his eyes and concentrated on controlling the wild magic.**

**It took a while, but eventually he was able to channel all the magic into the candles. As soon as he finished, the maelstrom of books and clothes fell to the floor.**

**Marvin lowered his head, breathing heavy. That had taken all his mental strength to accomplish, and he was drained. He looked around his messed up room, and sigh. Perhaps he wasn't destined to wield two kinds of magic.**

'_**Might as well give up now,'**_** he thought. Just then, his belly growled. He decided to head down to the guilds underground tavern to get something to eat. It was late, but his guild never real slept. **

'_**If only it had a fire place, then the tavern would be perfect,'**_** thought Marvin.**

**He got up to leave. Just as he reached the door, he remembered the candles on the floor that were still burning. He turned around, planning to extinguish them, to see a small fire burning in midair.**

**He stared at the dancing flames, intrigued. He took a step closer to it, and when it did nothing, he took another. After five steps, he came face to face with the mass of heat and light. He could feel the heat coming off it when three feet away, so he knew it was hot, but how hot? He looked around, picked up an unused piece of paper, and held it into the flames. **

**Nothing happened, the paper didn't burn; his hand that was holding the paper, though, that was a different story. It was sweating, and he could feel **_**it**_** getting burned. The heat soon grew unbearable, and he yanked his hand back as quickly as possible, the flames licking close to his fingers.**

**The paper, however, was spotless. There were no burn marks, no charred edges; it had nothing but nothing (BTW, does this count as a double negative?).**

**There was only one explanation for this: the fire was an illusion.**

**Marvin stood there for a moment longer, thinking. He raised his right hand, gathered his remaining magical energy on that palm, and imagined feeling the soft, cold wetness of snow.**

**He closed his eyes and waited, and waited, and waited.**

**When a tiny, almost inconceivable sensation touched his hand, he opened his eyes and smiled.**

Two years later

**Seven year old Marvin stood in the middle of the guilds training area with his master. He wore no shirt, just a pair of wore out brown pants. He was sweating, having just completed his physical training.**

**The training area they were in was a sixty (in length) by fifty (in width) by forty (in height) feet room made of bricks. The ceiling was held up at the sides by support pillars, except at the eastern wall, which extended twenty feet out of the face of the mountain the guild's base was located in. The wall was lined with windows, letting the just rising morning sun's rays into the training area.**

**The western wall was lined with roll upon roll of training equipment – wooden weapons of all sorts, punching bags, human dummies, and wooden targets.**

**It was still early in the morning, but there were already a handful of people there training. Marvin paid them no heed. His concentration was solely on the animal in front of him: a two feet goblin. The semi-intellectual creature had a swampy green hue to its slimy skin; its oddly shaped hands and legs had three two inch, dirt stained claws. Its misshapen head had two pointed ears, two small black eyes, a wrinkly nose, and a thick lipped mouth.**

**It was also an extremely vicious creature, the reason it was locked securely inside a magically reinforced metal cage.**

"**Me kil humon! Humon dai whe' my get's ot 'f hear'!" it was screaming, exposing four two inch canines, two on the top jaw, and two on the bottom jaw, "Eh, ye herd I? Me tok t'o yo, humon san 'f ai b–"**

**Marvin blocked the vile creature's words from his mind. He focused instead on the life energy surrounding the thing. All living beings project different forms of life energy, but they all look like an aura surrounding the creature.**

**In this case, the aura surrounding the goblin was sickly green and was just plain nasty. Ignoring the foul taste growing in his mouth, Marvin took out a plain tarot card.**

**He crossed his left palm perpendicularly over the back of his upright right hand, which held the white card. He held his hands out stretched, with the card facing the goblin.**

**He closed his eyes and chanted the words of a spell he had memorized just days ago, "Δήμητρα, η μητέρα όλης της ζωής? Εκάτη, η βασίλισσα όλων των μαγείας, οδηγός χέρι μου. Πάρτε αυτό το πλάσμα πριν από μένα, είναι εξορίσει από τη σφαίρα της ζωής και στο χώρο αποσκευών αυτή την κάρτα****!"**

**(For those of you interested, here are the pronunciations and the English translation. May not be accurate, though. If any of you can translate the English version, and this turns out to be wrong, please translate this for me.)**

**[Dí̱mi̱tra, i̱ mi̱téra óli̱s ti̱s zo̱í̱s ?̱ Ekáti̱ , i̱ vasílissa ólo̱n to̱n mageías, odi̱gós chéri mou. Párte af̱tó to plásma prin apó ména, eínai exorísei apó ti̱ sfaíra ti̱s zo̱í̱s kai sto chó̱ro aposkev̱ó̱n af̱tí̱ ti̱n kárta!]**

**[Demeter, mother of all life; Hecate, queen of all magic, guide my hand. Take this creature before me; banish it from the realm of the living and into the hold of this card!]**

**A ring of six purple magical circles appeared, sandwiched between two larger versions of said circles. They hovered above the raging goblin which was still ignorant of the circles presence. A violently violet radiance shone down from the circles, illuminating the goblin and the floor around it, alerting it to the circles for the first time.**

**As Marvin watched, the glare intensified, until it was blindingly white, forcing everyone present to close their eyes, Marvin and Lawrence included.**

**Because of the glare, Marvin couldn't see what was happening to the goblin, but he could still hear it, and it was screaming in pain and anger. After what seemed like a life time, just as an eerie silence settled in the training room, the glow died down.**

**As Marvin opened his eyes, he saw that the cage was empty. He held up the card and saw that it wasn't blank anymore. On it was the image of the goblin, standing up right, with the words **Goblin kin **written at the bottom.**

"**I did it…" muttered Marvin in disbelieve. He had mastered his master's most powerful spell, 'Sealing', and that meant only one thing.**

"**Well done, Marvin," his master and stepfather, Lawrence, said. He walked over and clapped his shoulder, "You have mastered all of my spells, and that means you are, as of now, a full fledge mage."**

**Marvin turned to look at his master, his face full of mirth, "Does that mean I get to choose my guild now?"**

**Lawrence laughed merrily, "Why of course! So, what guild are you going to choose? Phoenix's feather? Lynx's paw? Eagle's eye?"**

**Even before Lawrence was finished, Marvin was shaking his head violently. In the end, he said, "I want to join Κλέφτης μάγος (Kléfti****̱****s mágos)!"**

**Lawrence's smile flattered, and there was a slight tremor in his voice when he said "Um, I don't think that is such a good idea, Marvin."**

"**Huh? But why?"**

"**Your magical talents are best used for something else – some**_**where**_** else, **_**any**_**where else but here."**

"**Why? What's wrong with wanting to join my master's guild?" demanded Marvin.**

**As if on cue, a large man with only a thin strip of hair in the middle of his head said from the side, "Ye don't know what kin of guild Κλέφτης μάγος is, do ya?"**

**Marvin tilted his head in the brute's direction, question marks in his eyes, "What kind of guild? Whatever do you mean?"**

**He was about to answer when Lawrence said in a stern voice, "That's enough, Beaufort."**

**The man name Beaufort nodded sheepishly and retreated back to his training.**

**Lawrence sighs and puts his right hand on Marvin's left shoulder to lead him away, "Come, boy. We'll talk outside."**

**Marvin looked on in curiosity at Beaufort's actions a minute more. He then reached for his shirt and coat before letting Lawrence gently urged him outside.**

…

**Lawrence had guided Marvin up and out of the guild, onto the summit of the guild's mountain hideout. It wasn't a steep mountain, and the 'summit' wasn't a peak, but more of a gentle hill hundreds of meters above the ground. At this elevation, there were no trees, just a few patches of grass amidst a sea of different sized boulders and stones.**

**It was early spring, and the area around them was still covered in a blanket of white. Needless to say, it was cold, and despite his thick coat and the fact that he had just done his morning exercise, Marvin shivered slightly. As always, Lawrence didn't seem the slightest bothered by the change in temperature, presumable because his clothes were magical ones.**

**The pair stood there in total silence, admiring the tranquil scenery before them. After a while, Lawrence said, "Beautiful, isn't it?"**

**Marvin, as usual, didn't understand. He had thought his master was here to tell him about the guild. Nevertheless, he responded with a "Yes, master, it is."**

"**Such a beautiful place… yet so dangerous at the same time. Bears prowl the rivers looking for food after a long hibernation. Chimera's stoke the area waiting for prey; and Lamia's rule the night, killing everything in sight."**

"**Despite its apparent beauty, it is a dark and dangerous place," as he finished, he turned to Marvin, "a very dark place, indeed."**

**Although he was just seven, Marvin caught on to the reference, "Master, are you trying to say that this guild… is a dark guild?"**

**Lawrence nodded sadly, "Yes, my boy: this is a dark guild. Do you know what Κλέφτης μάγος stands for?"**

**When Marvin shook his head, Lawrence explained, "It means 'mage thief'. As the name implies, we are a thief's guild, and not just **_**any**_** thief's guild, but a guild of thieving mages!" Lawrence said this proudly, as if he came up with the concept himself, which he did.**

"**So, you use magic to steal?" asked Marvin, more curious than alarmed.**

**Lawrence's joyful smile flattered and he said, "Marvin, you are a very talented young boy. There are plenty of other options for you to pick from. You shouldn't waste your future here, doing disgraceful acts just to survive."**

"**But I'm not," said Marvin, smiling widely, "I'm doing this to repay you, master. You saved my life before my parents killer could get to me; you took me in and treated me like your son. You even taught me magic! This is my way of saying thanks… stepfather."**

**Lawrence seemed surprised by this, delightedly so. He hugged Marvin tightly and said, "Thank you, Marvin."**

"**So, I take it I can stay?"**

"**Oh by the gods, child, give it a rest already. Fine, by all means, join. I do not care anymore!" Lawrence said, but he was clearly pleased.**

**As he released a smiling Marvin, he said, "Now off you go, off you go." As Marvin ran back into the hideout's entrance Lawrence called out, "Oh, and take a bath; you reek of sweat!"**

**Marvin waved back and nodded, "I will!"**

**Lawrence keep up his smile until Marvin was gone, and even after that, his smile remained, even as a person covered completely in black walked out from behind one of the rocks.**

"**Valkyrie, I see you've returned."**

"**I see he agreed," Valkyrie said. She was wearing a cloak, so her features were unreadable. Only her eyes, two crimson orbs, could be seen from underneath her hood.**

**Lawrence nodded, "Yes, he did. Beaufort even played his role perfectly."**

**Valkyrie shook her head, "Be careful with that one, Lawrence Fortune. He is powerful, even for people of our strength," warning saturating her tone.**

"**I would watch what you say when you are around me, **_**slave**_**." Lawrence said, his voice void of emotions.**

**Valkyrie bowed, "Forgive me, it was a slip of the tongue."**

**Lawrence smiled, "Of course it was. And do not worry, Valkyrie Vermilion, I have him right where I want him. He won't betray me."**

…

**Later that night, while in his room, Marvin started contemplating about his master's sealing magic. He knew that his master had made it to capture living beings, but then why use the living energies as the target and the medium of the spell, instead of only the target?**

**He decided to test out a theory of his. He took out one of his tarot cards from his deck as if by memory, and summoned an actual ball of fire.**

**Next, he readied a plain tarot card and replicated the pose required to perform the 'Sealing' magic. He focused on the magical energies of the orb of floating flames and started to recite the spell.**

**However, instead of his master's incantation, he altered his to read, "Εκάτη, η βασίλισσα όλων των μαγείας, οδηγός χέρι μου. Πάρτε αυτή τη δύναμη μπροστά μου, να μετατραπεί από έναν εχθρό σε σύμμαχο και σφραγίδα σε αυτή την κάρτα!"**

**(Again, the pronunciations and the English translation. And again, may not be right.)**

**[Ekáti****, i**** vasílissa ólo****n to****n mageías, odi****gós chéri mou. Párte af****tí**** ti**** dýnami**** brostá mou, na metatrapeí apó énan echthró se sýmmacho kai sfragída se af****tí**** ti****n kárta!]**

**[Hecate, queen of all magic, guide my hand. Take this power before me, turn it from an enemy into an ally and seal it in this card!]**

**The flames shot towards him and Marvin almost flinched away.**

**Almost.**

**The fire struck the card and disappeared into it.**

**Marvin remained in his pose for several seconds before he hastily turned the card in his hands to face him. On it was the image of a fire ball, and the words **Flame orb**, the name of the spell, was written at the bottom.**

**He jumped with excitement. He actually managed to seal a spell! To capture magic in a tarot card!**

'_**I could use my enemies own attacks against them!'**_** he thought triumphantly.**

**Almost as an afterthought, he aimed the face of the card with the picture of the fire ball towards the far wall of his room and said, "****Ελευθέρωση****!"**

**(****Elef****théro****si****, or release)**

**A ball of fire erupted from the card and sailed towards the wall, slamming into it before disintegrating into nothingness.**

**He shouted a mental "Yes!" before looking at the card and found that it was again blank.**

"…" **he was speechless for a moment, before saying to himself, "Well, at least I get to use it once…" or so he said to comfort himself…**

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><p>[Imagine cool song]<p>

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><p>Apologies for the greek words, apparently they are not supported here. I don't know about you, but I felt that that was boring, but hey, that's probably me just being hard on myself. As always, please review!<p> 


	3. Chapter 3 Wounds

Disclaimer: I do not own **'Fairy Tail'** or the backdrop this story is based off of, and neither do I own any characters that might appear in this story that wasn't created by me.

Acknowledgement: This story is based off a fanfic for **'Fairy tail'** called **'****That's a bit optimistic****'** written by '**InsertDecentNameHere****'**, whom I would like to thank for giving me permission to write this story.

WARNING: Since this story is a separate project, spoilers to 'The Phantom' may or may not be present.

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><p><strong>Chapter three: Forgotten melodies<strong>

[Imagine cool song]

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><p>(Nine years after the last chapter)<p>

**The city of Ostia, also known as the city time left behind, is the perfect place for history lovers to visit. The roads are old; the buildings rustic, the people still steep in traditions and culture.**

**The streets here are made from unevenly hand-shaped bricks; the same goes for the structures as well. Beautiful artworks such as marble sculptures stand all around the city, their once clean surfaces lined with dirt collected from the ages, despite the constant care of the town; and tall, ancient trees dart every unoccupied corner – the hall mark of an old, unchanging city.**

**Needless to say, the icons of such a city are its museums. There were a numbers of museums here, but the one known as 'Gilbert's museum of historical arts' is one of the biggest, if not the most renowned site in the city.**

**Its outer appearance, with its marble white columns and smooth brick walls, resembled the pantheon in shape. Its interior, however, was an entirely different story. With its larger size, it housed roll after roll of art exhibits. There were paintings, sculptures, pottery, huge statues, even a couple of golden sarcophagi in the building.**

**The museum was a place full of expensive artifacts, so it was naturally a place where people liked to visit, either those who wish to admire beautiful art, or more commonly, those who wish to put a price on the priceless. And tonight, one visitor was planning just such a visit.**

…

**Later that night, much later, a lone silhouette skipped silently across roof tops, unseen despite the clear dark sky painted with a sea of stars and the bright face of the silvery moon. His pace was fast enough to rival a galloping horse, his jumps as nimble as a monkey's. He made it to the museum undetected, somersaulting gracefully in midair, before landing catlike at the southern wall of the museum.**

**The would-be thief was dressed fully in black – black mask, black gloves, black shirt and pants, even black boots. The only things visible were the eyes, which were a dazzling gold.**

**The thief touched his right hand onto the solid stone wall, and a dark void started radiating outwards from his hand. Once it was big enough, the thief walked through, disappearing from sight, and entering the museum. A valley of old items encased in glass boxes surrounded the lawbreaker, any of which would have made a bagger well-off for the rest of his life.**

**The thief ignored all of these. The objective of this particular theft wasn't about money, but about making a statement. For this purpose, an item of great importance was the target, in this case a paper bird. It wasn't well made, the paper wasn't enchanted, and it wasn't expensive. However, it was the first known origami magic used in Earth land, and so that made it famous.**

**That, and the fact that is was small, made it perfect for this job.**

**Because of its fame, the piece was place in a magically reinforced glass case, surrounded by high grade detection spells, counter magic, and a rare willpower spell that prevented most people who came near it from even thinking about touching the artifact, let alone stealing it.**

**Not this thief, though. This particular person had a strong mind that was able to resist the magic, and the other spells weren't cause for worry either. All of them were effective countermeasures, but only under one condition – they only worked if someone touched the glass case around the origami piece.**

**A few inches from the display case, the thief stopped walking. From a concealed right pocket in his pants, he pulled out a second black marble, the first which he had used to create the first portal.**

**He rolled it from his right palm onto two of his fingers and pushed it into the front face of the cube glass case. A black void six inches in diameter appeared, large enough for him to put his hand through, which he did. Carefully, he plucked the delicate thing up and out of the display case,**

**At the same time, a guard who was patrolling the perimeters outside the museum passed by the hole in the wall the thief used to gain entry. He passed it, changed his gear to reverse, and stopped at the black circle in the wall. He tilted his head in wonder before tentatively reaching his hand inside, and when it returned unscathed, he poked his head in.**

**The thief at this moment in time was admiring the origami bird. It was old, with crisps and uneven folds, but its condition was expected for its age. He carefully pocketed it in a black pouch hanging on his waist and ran towards the portal.**

**By then, the guard had retracted his surprised plastered face and began pulling out a small red tube from his pocket. He cracked it, sending a magical messaged to every other guard of the museum. Now, what might that message be, you ask?**

"**Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" a voice rang out in the sound proof building, causing the thief to pick up his pace. The thief ran with all his might, but just as he reached his escape, the portal closed, the anti-traveling magic in the wall disabling the magical transportation portal.**

**At that precise moment, five armed guards appeared and surrounded him. The thief turned to regard the one with the golden rope around his shoulder, the obvious leader. He was a mountain of a man, wearing a dark blue uniform, complete with a cap; the same as everyone else. He had a square face, wide eyes, thick lips, a wide nose, dark tan skin, a thick black mustache, and the beginning of a goatee.**

"**Surrender thief," he said in a rough voice, "we have the place – and you – surrounded. There is no where left to run."**

**The thief's features were hidden underneath his mask, but his eyes showed that he was smiling, and he was. Quite arrogantly, in fact.**

"**Surrounded? By who? Bozos like you? Hah, don't make me laugh! Oops, too late. You guys couldn't catch a fly even if it was standing in the palm of your hands, let alone the great phantom!" he boosted in a merry voice.**

**As he finished, the head guard's face grew so red it looked like an oversized tomato in a blue suit, and smoke seemed to start coming out from atop his head. It was quite hilarious, so the phantom laughed out loud while pointing at him, saying, "You look like a mountain blowing its top when you're angry!"**

**A vein appeared over the men's cranium, "Get him!"**

**The guard to his left came forward, and the phantom kicked out with his left leg, straight at his left shinbone, striking it with enough force to break it. The guard fell backwards, covering his injured leg as the rest of his comrades, save the leader, charged the phantom.**

**Casually, as if he did so every day, the phantom turned his head slightly to the right, avoiding a straight punch to his face. He followed through that motion, twisting around to his left and slamming his right elbow into the guard's back, cracking the scapula – just enough to immobilize him with pain.**

**Not missing a beat, he hooked his right hand around the right arm of another guard's who tried and failed to land a hit. The phantom pressed his hip into the guard's side, and using his own shoulder as a pivot point, he launched the guard up and over into one of two guards who were trying to sneak up on him from behind, sending them both flying. He then rotated on his heels and landed a powerful roundhouse kick to the second guard's side, breaking some ribs and knocking him to the floor.**

**He turned to face the head guard just in time to duck under a side jab aimed at his head. He planted his right leg firmly in front and twisted his body, launching a devastating punch to his solar plexus. As the head guard bend down, grabbing himself in pain, the phantom skipped to a side.**

"**Better luck next time, suckers!" he said, saluted to the guards, and danced away towards the main door of the museum.**

**At the same time, he pulled a rectangular piece of hard paper out of a holder that was attached to his waist as well. A faint yellow glow erupted from it before subsiding as quickly as it came.**

**The head guard got up, ignoring the constant pain in his stomach. He ordered, in extremely colourful words, the others to get up on to their feet and start pursuing the phantom.**

**One by one, they stood up and more or less limped towards the direction the phantom had taken. They were halted, however, by the guard who's leg was broken with an upraise hand, "Sir, there is a black pouch on the floor." He said while pointing at the general direction of where the thief had stood.**

**There, on the ground, was a black pouch – the exact same pouch that was hung on the phantom's waist just minutes before.**

**The very same pouch he had used to keep the origami bird.**

**The head guard beamed and said to the guard who had spotted it, "You, pick that up. Everyone else, follow me to the front, now!"**

**With that, he raced off as fast as his legs could while carrying his enormous bulk, the others close behind. They were out of ear shout when the guard with the broken leg reached the pouch, so they couldn't hear his cry of protest for them to return.**

**At this point, the front entrance was already visible to the phantom, although more guards stood in his way. He simple smiled underneath his black mask and cracked his neck before running straight for the guard directly in his path. At the last moment, he dropped to the floor, rolling through the large gap between the guard's opened legs.**

**He got up from the roll just in time to punch a second guard in the chest, knocking the air out of his lungs. He ducked under two well aimed swings to his face by two guards standing side by side, came up behind them, and ran full speed towards the door.**

**He slammed into the thick, heavily decorated – not to mention enchanted – wooden double doors of the museum… and it didn't budge.**

**He turned around as another guard took a shot at his head (cause let's face it - that's where anyone who's untrained in the fine art of combat would aim for, when in fact a better target would be the stomach: much bigger area). He went to his knees to avoid the hit and pushed the guard away from him.**

**It was to no avail. As soon as he did so, a swarm of them grabbed him and pushed him to the floor, using their bodies to pin him there. They had all hear tales of the phantom, and were not taking any chances.**

**Just then, the head guard arrived. "Got him up!" he ordered.**

**The guards roughly pulled him up and held him in front of their boss. The head guard smirked and, without so much of a warning, pouched the phantom in the gut, causing him to bend over and cry out in pain. The head guard leaned closer towards the would-be thief and said, quite arrogantly, "That's for hitting me in the stomach."**

**He landed a second punch in the exact same place, this time with enough force to lift him off the ground. He would have hit the door if there weren't guards holding him down.**

"**And that's for insulting me," the head guard said. With his anger and frustration gone, he leaned back and chuckled, before saying, "So you think just because you're a thief, you can just walk in here, take us all on, and steal from one of the most secure places in all of earth land? That's quite arrogant."**

**He then said, quite loudly, "Well then, let us see how arrogant you are when you're not hiding behind that mask of yours!"**

**With that, he reached forward and pulled the mask off the phantom's head. The thief looked up, revealing a square face with wide eyes, thick lips, a wide nose, dark tan skin, a thick black mustache, and the beginning of a goatee… now why does that description sound so familiar?**

"**B… boss… that's yo… you are th… the phantom?" demanded one of the guards.**

**The head guard swallowed and managed to force out the words, "Bu… but I'm here… I… the phantom… wha… what in the name of the gods is going on here!"**

**This time, it was the 'phantom's' turn to grin. "Hey," he said in the head guard's voice, "why were you hitting yourself?" and with those parting words, he vanished.**

**For a moment, everyone was didn't say a word. That silence was broken when one of the guards said, "It… it must have been an illusion."**

**That brought the head guard back to reality, "Ahem, you are quite right. And anyways, so what if he got away – at least we prevented the phantom from stealing anything! We, the guards of 'Gilbert's museum of historical arts', are the first to have done so!"**

"**That's right, we have his pouch!" said one of the guards who was with him when they had first encountered the infamous thief.**

"**That's right!" said their boss, who started laughing maniacally, followed by the rest of the guards. Their little self satisfactory party was crashed when a limping guard with a black pouch bounced over, screaming, "It's empty! The pouch is empty!"**

**So much for **_**that**_** happy thought.**

**That silenced everyone for another moment before the head guard shouted in rage, "Open the door! Open the door!"**

**Everyone scrambled to the switch that opened the otherwise unmovable twin doors. Even before it was fully opened, the head guard rushed out, barking, "Scout the area! He couldn't have gone far!" before storming off to find the thief.**

**Everyone was so busy that no one saw a dark shadow slip out of the now opened front door, with no one to stop it as it slipped out into the night. The phantom – for of course it was the great thief – climbed up onto the roof tops and skipped into the darkness, unseen.**

**He was soon out of the ancient city.**

…

**The phantom was standing in a clearing of the forest that surrounded Ostia.**

'_**Where is she?'**_** he thought as he tapped his legs in inpatients.**

**His thoughts were interrupted by the breaking of a stick to his back. He turned around to see a woman wearing a brown jacket and blue jeans walk out of the trees. She was a member of his guild, a gatekeeper named Hilda. The guild mark – a curved dagger in the shape of an S – was clearly visibly on her neck.**

**The phantom nodded at her, "I see you've tied your hair up."**

**She smiled in return and toyed with her brown hair which was tied into a long ponytail, "You like it?"**

"**Err, it suits you… I guess?" he said while scratching his head.**

**Hilda would have smacked his head, but the sound of the patrol getting closer stopped her. Instead she asked, "Do you have it?"**

**The phantom showed her his prize, and her smile reached her ears, "Good, now let's go. Ready?"**

**When he nodded, she waved her right hand in front of her, and a hole appeared out of thin air. They both stepped through the portal, the phantom leading the way.**

**On the other side, they stepped into a chamber half the size of a football field. It was lit by torches placed at the top of each ten meter high pillar that supported the ceiling of the place. The floor was covered in tiled Trif wood.**

**One fifth of the place was used as a kitchen and bar, while the rest of it was filled with tables and chairs, all made from the same expensive wood.**

**And each table was filled to the brim with people.**

**Some were eating, most were drinking, and all were there to have a good time: sharing stories, having friendly matches, and whatever else it was that thieves do in their free time.**

**Or at least, that was what they were doing before Hilda and the phantom popped into their midst; cause when they did, all eyes were on them.**

**After a moment of silence, someone shouted, "Oi, that you, Marvin? Welcome back, boy!"**

**The 'phantom' took off his mask to reveal a striking face with spiky, silver white hair; golden eyes, and the guilds dagger mark on his chest. All that, and the cocky smile that seemed plastered to his face, as if signaling to all that he was the best.**

**No one wanted to argue that point, though, as he **_**was**_** the best. Everyone present had been caught at least once, and had to rely on the guild to bail them out. The only exception to that was Marvin. He has been with the guild for nine years, and in all that time, he's pulled of literally a thousand thefts, evaded thousands more law enforcers, and taken out untold mages who have tried to attack their dark guild.**

**Not bad for a 16 year old brat.**

"**You got the goods?" came the question.**

**In response, he held up what he had grabbed from the museum when the guards were too busy with his duplicate – a golden crown laced with diamonds, pearls, emeralds, and a myriad of other gems.**

**It was the crown of emperor Kral, the eleventh and last king of the ancient kingdom of ****Altın'para, one of the most powerful magical kingdoms in the ancient world.**

**In other words, it was priceless.**

**Upon seeing the piece, every member in the guild's tavern laughed and shouted with joy. Beer and rum covered the room in seconds. Hilda wisely chose that moment to make an exit using her magic.**

**The commotion died down when a multicolored parrot flew over their heads and said in a high pitched voice, "Marvin (crock), master to see you (crock), master to see you (crock)."**

**Marvin sigh, a rare thing, and announced, "Well, it's been nice knowing you guys," and bowed dramatically, to which everyone laughed.**

**He quickly took his exit and was soon ascending the stairs towards his guild master's office.**

**He stopped to admire the artwork on the wooden double doors before knocking twice.**

"**I told you a thousand times, I didn't order any lunch!" a deep voice, muffled by the door, came from the room.**

"… **It's me, master."**

**The sound of things dropping onto the floor could be heard, "Marvin? Since when did you start delivering food?"**

"… **You summoned me, master."**

"**Did I? … Oh, that's right, I did. Well, don't just stand there; open the door. Come in, come in."**

**Marvin sigh deeper and opened the door. He was greeted with the sight of what could only be described as a miniature library: the two story tall walls were covered in books. Even so, there were books scattered all around the floor, giving the rooms a very messy look. There was a heavy table in the middle of the fifteen by fifteen feet room, and it too had piles of books on it.**

**Sitting behind that table was a skinny old man with ****a grey goatee and moustache. Despite his age, though, Lawrence Fortune was still in peak physical condition.****He was wearing his customary dark purple overcoat and hat. His golden monocle was in his pocket; instead he had his reading glasses on. His black cane, as well whole bunch of report papers rested on the table in front of him.**

**Once he saw Marvin he beamed with delight, "Marvin, my boy. I take it the expedition went without a hitch," as he said that, he gestured Marvin to take a seat on one of the two chairs reserved for guests.**

**Marvin nodded and sat down, "It went flawlessly****… ****thought you should have known that by now."**

**Lawrence smiled even wider and produced the origami bird from his right drawer, the same origami that was dropped into Marvin's pouch back at the museum.**

**A pouch that was connected via an untraceable, one-time use only, trans-dimensional spell that connected it to the drawer of Lawrence's desk.**

"**That was splendidly executed, Marvin, well done. And I imagine you would wish for nothing but to get some rest now, am I right?"**

"**Yes," Marvin said, and Lawrence nodded, "Well than, carry on," he said before returning to his reading.**

**Under other circumstances, Marvin would have loved to return to his bed and sleep the day away. Unfortunately, however, it now seemed utterly impossible.**

"… **Master?" asked Marvin tentatively after a moment of watching his master sieve through the report papers. There was something wrong, Marvin knew; it was written all over his stepfather's face.**

"**Yes, Marvin?" his master asked, not looking up.**

"… **There's something wrong, isn't there?"**

**That caused Lawrence to look up.**

"**There was an attack on our guild members, wasn't there?" Marvin elaborated on his question.**

**And that caused Lawrence to take off his reading glasses.**

"… **Who told you? Was it Gary?" Lawrence enquired, obviously displeased. Including this recent theft, Marvin had already completed three consecutive missions. He didn't want to wear out his most prized possession.**

**Marvin shock his head, "Hilda did; well, she didn't **_**tell**_** me, per say."**

**Lawrence raised an eyebrow.**

"**She only ties her hair if she'd on an assignment, and her talents, other than her magic, are more suited to combat." Marvin explained.**

**Lawrence sigh, "Sometimes I wonder if your skills of perception are more of a problem then an asset."**

**After a while, he rubbed his forehead and said, "You're right. I didn't want to trouble you, but it seems I have no choice."**

**He stood up and looked Marvin in the eye, "We are under siege."**

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><p>[Imagine cool song]<p>

* * *

><p>Well, there's a happy note. So sorry about the late release; I had the mother of all writer blocks. As always, please review!<p> 


	4. Chapter 4 That

Disclaimer: I do not own **'Fairy Tail'** or the backdrop this story is based off of, and neither do I own any characters that might appear in this story that wasn't created by me.

Acknowledgement: This story is based off a fanfic for **'Fairy tail'** called **'****That's a bit optimistic****'** written by '**InsertDecentNameHere****'**, whom I would like to thank for giving me permission to write this story.

WARNING: Since this story is a separate project, spoilers to 'The Phantom' may or may not be present.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter four: Memories make you suffer<strong>

[Imagine cool song]

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><p>"<strong>Under siege? How? Why? Who?" Marvin asked in shock.<strong>

"**The imperial armada of Coriea! Apparently we insulted their princess when we nodded to the comment that she was beautiful. It seems that in their customs, nodding means 'give** me a break, like that's even remotely true'**!" Lawrence said in all seriousness.**

**They stared at each other for a few more minutes to let the words sink in, before Marvin broke the silence by arching and eyebrow, "Really? Insult their princess? That the best you could come up with?"**

"**Hey, I thought the imperial armada thing was quite... what was it teenagers say these days... ah right, cool; don't you think?" replied Lawrence with a grin.**

**Marvin shock his head in dismay, "Fooling aside, what's really happening?"**

**Lawrence sigh and set back in his leather chair, "One of our villages is being targeted."**

**Marvin frowns. The guild may be a dark guild, but the people here had families as well. As such, the guild had a few villages which were comprised mostly of guild family members. Because of this, such villages were protected by the guild, but they were also clear targets for any rival guild.**

"**Who's attacking?" he asked.**

"**That's the problem. It's Manticore."**

**After it computed in Marvin's mind, which took a minute or two, his golden eyes widen with surprise, "Manticore? Why would they attack? We've never had a reason to fight before!"**

**Lawrence shock his head, "Not anymore. I received a letter from their master two days ago." As he said this, he handed Marvin one of the papers on his desk. It was amazing he even knew which paper was which.**

**Marvin read the letter and his frown deepen.**

_**Dear daggers:**_

_**Lawrence, I know how thy despises a long and tedious letter, so let me get straight to the point. Apologies, but I fear that in order for Manticore to reach its maxima potentia, your guild of thieves can no longer exist. Consider this a declaration of war between us. Again, you have my deepest condolences.**_

_**Yours truly, Styl Alta, Master of Manticore thorn  
>'Insert a lion with a scorpion's tail symbol here'<strong>_

"**Well that's nice." Mumbled Marvin. Manticore thorn was an emerging dark guild in the region. They were a nasty bunch, but up till now, there hasn't been any reason for his guild and theirs to go to war. And if he could, he was sure Lawrence would have liked to prevent such a war.**

"**They attacked one of our more remote villages last night. We managed to chase them off, but 15 villagers were killed before we got there."**

**Marvin's face darkens with rage. No matter what happened, you don't kill. That was his rule. He was a thief, not a murderer, so the idea of killing had always repulsed him. Yes, he knew that most, if not all of his guild mates have killed before, but the casualties were always those of law enforcers, not innocent villagers.**

**He gave Lawrence back to letter and turned to leave.**

"**... Marvin, what are you going to do?" Asked Lawrence.**

"**What do you think?"**

"**... Take Hilda." Said Lawrence after a moment's consideration. He knew that look well. When Marvin had that look on him, there was no stopping him.**

_**Sigh, he's so different from his family,**_** thought Lawrence.**

**Marvin nodded, and went out the room.**

**Lawrence waited patiently. He didn't have to wait long, as Marvin walked back in almost immediately after.**

"**So, um. Where did you say they were going to attack next?"**

**Lawrence tried, he really tried, but he just couldn't stop himself from laughing.**

**...**

**After Lawrence told him that their scouts saw an advancing party riding towards Meadow deep, he took his exit immediately.**

**He would first pack, then meditate for a minute to recover his mana supply before heading out... sorry, make that 2 minutes, no 3... 5, yes. 5 minutes sounds about right... 10?**

**Sigh, 1 hour it is... why not 2... fine, 5! There, happy?**

_**Guess I'm sleeping tonight after all,**_** thought Marvin disheartedly as he snuff another yawn. After all, it would take 2 more days for Manticore to arrive in Meadow deep.**

**As he walked back towards his room, he noticed a hooded figure in front of him, walking his way.**

**About 10 feet apart, they both stopped. As was so often when they met, Marvin spoke first, "****Vermilion." He said in greeting.**

"… **Fortune." Came the reply, her voice void of emotion, as always.**

**Marvin sighs. He had first met his guilds most powerful mage when he was 8. She was as imposing a figure back then as she was now: a jet black cloak that covered her entire body, complete with a hood that she seemed to always have on. Its darkness was so eerie that if you stared at it long enough, you could swear that the fabric moved like an ocean of black.**

**Her eyes, a bright crimson, were the only visible colours on her. Heck, they were the only visible **_**features**_** on her. The only reason anyone knew she was female was from her voice; a comely but cold whisper.**

**Because of her bizarre appearance, there were plenty of rumours about her. Some say that she's a 100 year old witch, others a fallen queen of a far away kingdom. Some even claim that she's a demoness from the underworld.**

**Marvin knew better. He was perhaps one of only a hand full of people that knew what she looks like. He would never forget that day. **

**It was when he was 14. It was late one night when he couldn't sleep. Seeking a place to just stop and relax, he went to out to the summit of the guild's mountain.**

**To his surprise, Valkyrie was there. She had her hood down, and he was surprised to see that she had shoulder length hair that was as white as his. Her face was sharp, her skin a pearl-like white with a pinkish hue to it. Her red eyes shone with a radiance that looked more sad then eerie. All in all, she was quite beautiful, and it took his a while before he remembered to get out of there.**

**Before he could retreat though, she had used her hand to beckon him to sit down next to her.**

**Reluctantly, he had complied. After a few moments of starring into the star infected night sky, however, he discovered that Valkyrie wasn't as unpleasant to be with as he had thought.**

**They had talked for a while after that, and he noticed that her voice had more mirth in it than usual.**

**It wasn't until later when he realised that she spoke with more life in her when they were alone.**

**They had been friends ever since, or so Marvin liked to think.**

**After an awkward moment of silence, Marvin spoke, "Well, I've got an important mission to get ready for tomorrow so I'll be heading back first."**

**Just as he passed her, she said, "... I know... "**

**Marvin stopped and stared at her strangely.**

"**About... your magic... and its weakness..." she clarified.**

**Now Marvin panicked. For some reason, he had never mustered enough courage to tell Lawrence about his illusion magic. As a result, **_**nobody**_** knew about that secondary magic of his. So for Valkyrie to just casually say she knew about his magic, much less it's weakness... well, let's just say that got his attention.**

"**What do you mean?" he tried to cover.**

**After looking around to make sure nobody else was there, she drew closer and whispered into his ear, "Playing dumb? You know that won't work."**

**Before Marvin could reply, she took out a pair of glasses. They were tinted, and looked quite stylish.**

"**These glasses have been treated with an anti-lie spell coating. You know what that means?"**

**Slowly, he nodded. It was an enchantment design to block out anything that tricked the mind of the wearer. While this means that the wearer of these items could not be lied to, there was another use for these objects.**

**Illusions, or more accurately, they allowed the wearer to see through illusions.**

**Magic like this was rare, but he had heard of it before. The reason was simple: he wanted this magic for himself. Why? Because his illusions were area base, affecting the minds of anyone in the immediate vicinity.**

**In short, even he wasn't immune to his own illusions.**

**With those glasses, however, his illusions were useless on Valkyrie.**

**He swallowed, "What do you want?"**

**She tiled her head, "I think you misunderstand. I'm not threatening you with blackmail; though that is an interesting prospect, I can handle my own problems. No, these glasses are for you."**

**His eyes opened wide, "For me?"**

**She nodded, and he started to reach out for them. He then stopped and looked at her, "What's the catch?"**

"**What makes you think there is a catch? Do I look that untrustworthy to you?"**

**He raised an eyebrow.**

"**Err, scratch that thought. Look, just think of this as an early birthday present."**

**Once more, Marvin reached out for the glasses. When he touched them and she didn't retract her hand, he tentatively took the glasses and examined them.**

"**Thanks," he managed to force out. He wasn't accustom to receiving gifts from anyone, so he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say.**

**Apparently, that was enough, as Valkyrie nodded and stepped back, "Good luck on your mission. Who's going with you?"**

**When he told her Hilda was, he wasn't sure of it, but it seemed like she frowned, "Just Hilda? No offence Marvin, but as good as you are, you can't guard a village on your own."**

"**I'm not; Lawrence said that there were other members there as well."**

"**Okay, no offence to **_**them**_**, but I don't think that's enough."**

**Marvin tiled his head to a side and thought for a second, "Well, there is one more person I could ask, but..."**

"**... But what?"**

"**Well, his mother might worry..."**

"**His mother?"**

**He brushed it off, "I'll just have to come up with an excuse, then. Don't worry about it." He then proceeded to walk off.**

"**Wait," Valkyrie called, "This person, is he good?"**

**Marvin stopped and turned towards her, "You know that guild called Golems Fist?"**

"**Ya, sure. They are rumoured to be one of the toughest dark guilds to have existed. Before their downfall, they had at least 120 members. They were quite formidable"**

"**Who do you think was responsible for their downfall?"**

**Valkyrie's eyes widened, "He was a part of the group that took them down?"**

**Marvin grinned, "Group? I wouldn't call a company of two a 'group', would you?" And with that, he walked away, leaving a very stunned Valkyrie behind.**

**...**

**Greg Stonehearts was currently sitting in his house in the middle of a mountain range, cleaning one of his many swords. It was cold here all year round, so the fire place was lit. It had been a full month since he had a job, and frankly, he was bored out of his usually cool mind.**

_**If I don't do something soon I'll die of boredom,**_** he thought, but didn't say. He was a man of many thoughts, but few words. As one of his few friends had once said, "I swear, you are like the ocean; so full of riches inside, yet at the surface, so damn quiet!"**

**Just then, there was a knock on the door.**

**His mother was out at town shopping, so he lazily stood up and walked towards the door. Lazily in normal people sense. In truth, that walk of 2 feet per second was twice as fast as his normal speed.**

**He was so bored that he would talk to anyone, even if that anyone was the only one doing the talking.**

**When he opened the door, his eyes widened a millimetre; imperceptible to anyone else... but this wasn't just anyone.**

**Two people stood at the door. Further back was a girl with brown hair tied into a ponytail. He was interested, however, in the guy standing in front of him.**

**The guy was slightly shorter then he was, with a black outfit that was clearly made for both comfort and combat. His neck was covered by said clothes, but Greg knew that an S shaped dagger was there.**

**His most notable features, however, were his hair and his eyes. Indeed, they contradicted each other completely.**

**His hair was a silvery white, whilst his eyes were a brilliant gold.**

**It was the same guy who had likened him to the ocean.**

"**Marvin," he greeted.**

"**Hello Greg," 'the phantom', as he was more widely known, bowed in an extravagant fashion.**

"**What?" he simply asked.**

**There were a million answers to that simple question, and anybody else would have asked back, "What do you mean?"**

**Marvin, however, simply said, "I have a job for you..."**

**Before he could continue with "the pay's good", Greg held up a hand and slammed the door.**

**A few minutes later, Greg reappeared, fully dressed for battle.**

**When Marvin raised his eyebrows, Greg answered while locking his door, "Mom, market. Left note."**

**They turned to leave, but Marvin was still curious, "Yes, but you seem more eager than usual to help me. Why is that?"**

**He looked at Marvin and uttered just one word.**

"**Bored."**

**That one word was enough to freeze Marvin in his tracks.**

**After all, a normal Greg could destroy an entire dark guild... at their headquarters. He had seen him do so before, albeit most of the members were out. Still, it was him against 80 or so mages, and he annihilated them.**

**If that was what a normal Greg could do, what would a bored-out-of-his-mind Greg do to ease the stress?**

**Suddenly, he wasn't so sure about bringing Greg along.**

**...**

**Thanks to Hilda, they managed to get to Meadow deep in record time.**

**Once there, they regrouped with the rest of their guild members. There were a total of 7 guild members here, excluding Greg who was a mercenary.**

**After explaining the situation to Greg, they discussed defensive strategies, but even Greg, who was the best strategist Marvin had ever met, could not come up with a good enough plan that covered the entire village.**

**The place was just not build to withstand an attack.**

**The only lead they had was that the Manticore's were coming from the east, and even that was useless information, as any sound attack party would stop half a mile away and change directions to attack, meaning they could come from anywhere.**

**So they decided the best thing to do was to just rest and wait for the enemy to come. When they did, they would remove the treat as best they could.**

**In the mean time, for their own safety, Hilda would evacuate the villagers to a remote location.**

**...**

**That night, Marvin and Greg were out for a stroll. The Manticore's were not expected to arrive until tomorrow night, so they were just relaxing.**

**After a long silence, Marvin asked, "How's your mom?"**

**Greg looked at him and said, "Worried."**

**Marvin nodded. Greg's mom was the kind to worry if he didn't answer her when she called, even if he just went for a walk around their house.**

"**Insisting I join a guild." He continued.**

**Marvin turned to look at him, "I hope you are not thinking of joining **_**this**_** guild. You are better off at a legitimate guild, not a dark one like mine."**

"**Not sure..." Greg said.**

**Marvin knew what he meant. Greg was always a lone wolf. Joining a guild went against his very nature.**

**Before he could ask what he was going to do, Greg stopped walking.**

**Marvin stopped two stepped ahead of his friend, "Greg, what's wrong?"**

**Greg shot him a look, "My left. 2."**

**Marvin sighed, "I know, they make so much noise. Now, the 3 behind me, they are better."**

**Just as he finished, five hooded figures shot out into the air from the trees, each of them wielding a weapon.**

**Marvin stuck his hands into his pockets and closed his eyes, "Earth break?" he asked Greg.**

**In response, Greg placed both of his hands perpendicular to each other, his right hand in his left's palm. He closed his right hand into a fist and a bright light radiated from his palm. The light was so bright that it blinded their attackers, forcing them to close their eyes.**

**Marvin took the opportunity to activate the Tarot card in his pocket, "****Illusionary Tarot card:**** Earth break!"**

**Just as their assailants regained their vision, they lost their balance as the ground around them shifted and changed, rising and falling in constant flux.**

**The sudden temper of the earth caused all of their would-be attackers to leap into the air, where they would be unaffected by the changing landscape.**

**Just as they planned.**

**It was at that moment that Greg activated his magic, "Requip: Hypersonic!"**

**As he said that, he pulled out a green handle from his left palm. He continued to pull, revealing a slightly curved green sword.**

**Somehow, Greg managed to plant his foot firmly on the unstable earth, and before anyone could react, he shot up straight into one of the attackers. He caught him by surprise, and managed to put in three consecutive strikes to the head before using the fallen guys body as a platform to jump off of. He repeated the process with the other four attackers, and when he landed, Marvin had cancelled his spell, and all five assailants were lying on the ground, unconscious.**

**All of this happened in under 5 seconds.**

**Greg sheathe his sword, and looked to Marvin, who was examining the fallen attackers. There was a****lion with a scorpion's tail****tattoo on each and every one of them.**

**Just then, an explosion rocketed the entire area. Both Marvin and Greg turned to see a huge sea of flames engulfing the village.**

"**Early." Greg commented.**

**Marvin nodded. Apparently, the Manticore's had arrived sooner than expected.**

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><p>[Imagine cool song]<p>

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><p>Oh, the pains of moving can be such a drag. I didn't even have the motivation to write! I am so sorry for not posting this sooner. Please forgive me… please… (Begging with pussy dog eyes… sob…)<p> 


	5. Chapter 5 Never

Ok, the last chapter was quite boring, I know; I'm sorry. This chapter is different, I promise. So please welcome the RETURN OF COOLNEST! (Couldn't use awesomeness because some cartoon series is using it)

To anyone reading this, I apologise if you've been waiting ages for an update (though I doubt there will be more than 5… and even that's hoping too much!) I simply had too much to do, so please understand.

Disclaimer: I do not own **'Fairy Tail'** or the backdrop this story is based off of, and neither do I own any characters that might appear in this story that weren't created by me.

Acknowledgement: This story is based off a fanfic for **'Fairy tail'** called **'****That's a bit optimistic****'** written by '**InsertDecentNameHere****'**, whom I would like to thank for giving me permission to write this story.

WARNING: Since this story is a separate project, spoilers to 'The Phantom' may or may not be present.

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><p><strong>Chapter five: They will only torment<strong>

[Imagine cool song]

* * *

><p><strong>Marvin rushed through the hallways of his guild, ignoring the glares of curiosity he got from his fellow guild mates. In a secluded area of the guild that was facing the west stood the person he was looking for – Valkyrie.<strong>

**When Valkyrie saw him coming, she initially raised her hand to greet him, but then she noted his demeanor; he was in a bad mood.**

**What's more, he was glaring at her.**

**She took a step back, "Marvin?"**

**He kept coming, even until he was far too close for comfort. He grabbed her by her collar and slammed her against one of the many pillars adoring the side of the hallway that was facing the now setting sun.**

**Valkyrie winched in pain from the impact. She may be the strongest mage in the guild, but physically, she was quite weak.**

**Marvin didn't relent. He looked at her intently and asked a simple question, "Tell me the truth."**

**It wasn't a threat; nor was it a demand. He was just asking a question. However, Valkyrie could feel the intensity behind those words.**

**"Tell you what?"**

**"What happened… to my parents…" he managed to force out.**

**…**

A day earlier

**"Damn it!" Gillian swore as she straight punched a manticore in the face. The man-faced lion was sent flying back a couple of meters, despite its massive size. It stopped its backwards momentum and whipped its spiked covered tail towards Gillian, three black thorns shooting out towards her.**

**"Shi–" she jumped up into the air, her gravity directional magic pulling her upwards, causing the three poisoned missiles to sail pass harmlessly below her.**

**She landed just as the creature pounced on her, so fast she couldn't react in time. She closed her eyes and waited for the pain.**

**When it didn't come, she opened her eyes to see her manticore clawing the air around it, as if it was trapped in an invisible box. From the look on its human face, it was suffocating. Whatever had trapped the creature was apparently sucking the air out of its lungs.**

**After a few more seconds of struggling, the strange lion stopped moving entirely, its last twitches fading away with its life.**

**A faint foot step caused Gillian to turn around.**

**"Yo." Marvin said.**

**She breathed a sigh of relief, "Thanks, Marvin."**

**"No problem. Now, shall we go help the others?"**

**Gillian nodded and chased after Marvin as he raced towards the center of the village.**

**"Marvin, slow down! Those manticore spikes are still poisonous; one cut and not even the best healers can cure you. You'll be dead in seconds!" she warned as the thief skipped around the thorns without a single care in the world.**

**"This can't wait, Gillian!" he yelled back, "Greg is in the village fighting!"**

**"Wait, I thought you said he was a mercenary. What kind of mercenary can't take care of himself?"**

**"That's not it! If I'm not there, he might destroy the entire village!"**

**Gillian's blood ran cold, "You are kidding, right?"**

**Marvin looked at her and said, "Of course I'm joking; he won't destroy the village."**

**Gillian sighed in relief.**

**"He'll just turn everything to rubble," Marvin continued in all seriousness.**

**[_]**

**In the middle of the flaming village, a circle of eight masked individuals were facing a single unarmed figure.**

**All eight of the attackers were already severely wounded, while the single individual had barely broken a sweat.**

**"Come on, man. If we work together, we can take him!" one of them said.**

**The figure shock his head, "Won't work." He whispered.**

**His attackers, however, didn't hear his warning, and charged in all at once.**

**He sighed, and clapped his hands together in front of him. His hands turned into fists with their sides to each other. He then pulled his hands apart, causing a bright flash of light.**

**"Reversal, Sidewinder."**

**When the light subsided, his right hand was holding a large grey saber, and on his left hand he had a light brown short sword.**

**He twisted the great saber until he was holding it back-handed, its blade pointing up. His attackers felt a sudden shift in their weight, and soon they were floating skywards, as if gravity had changed direction.**

**Before they could comprehend what had happened, the blade of the short sword extended and shot out like a whirlwind, striking each of them multiple times.**

**Greg's attackers were just starting to fall when he kept his swords.**

**"Lame," he said.**

**"Ho, so you think so too, huh?" a rough voice said behind him.**

**Greg turned around to find a huge muscular man standing behind him. He was wearing a brown T-shirt with its sleeves torn out. He was also wearing boots. All in all, he looked like a person from the army.**

**He had dark brown skin, and his head was bold. He had a huge mustache on his face, but it did nothing to hide his huge grin.**

**"My name is John the Earthshaker of the manticores! Now it's your turn; are you one of those dagger mages?"**

**Greg just looked at him and asked, "You. Are you strong?"**

**John laughed, "Strong? I am one of the strongest mages of Manticore thorn!" And with that, he slammed his feet down on the ground, causing a huge eruption of earth all around Greg, encasing him in stone. The resulting fissure from the magic caused the houses around Greg to sink into the earth, so strong was the impact.**

**"Ha ha ha! No one can survive being crushed by me earth tomb! That will teach you daggers to look down on us Manticores!"**

**[_]**

**On the outskirts of the village, Marvin was facing a problem of his own: namely two manticores and their masters, plus one mage from Manticore thorn.**

**The two beastmasters rode atop their soul-bound creatures. They wore Brown robes that covered their entire bodies, leaving only their eyes visible. The mage, on the other hand, wore a red shirt that resembled that of a Chinese martial arts uniform. His brown hair was short, and he had black eyes. He was also shorter then Marvin by about an inch. He looked like a melee type of person, and his heavy build solidified that look.**

**"So you are a mage of Kléfti****̱****s mágos. I am sorry, but I have orders to kill you." The martial artist said.**

**Marvin shrug, "Sure, no problem; I understand. This is strictly professional, so no hard feelings from me. By the way, the name's Marvin, and I'm a tarot magic user. Who are you?"**

**"Danny Chan, mana enchantment fighter."**

**"I see. Well then, shell we begin?"**

**Danny waved for the two beastmasters to stay back. He then dug his leg into the ground and said to Marvin, "Again, I am sorry."**

**Marvin had just uttered the words, "Sure–" when Danny struck him with an uppercut that sent Marvin flying. Just before Marvin hit the ground, Danny appeared right next to him, slammed his right foot down into the earth for leverage, and punched forward with his right fist, his entire body swinging to increase the impact.**

**Needless to say, Marvin went flying once again, this time straight into a tree, causing it to snap in two.**

**"May you rest in peace," Danny said, relaxing his pose.**

**[_]**

**"Well, that was boring; he died with just one move!" John said to himself. The 10 feet tall earth tomb that Greg was in had solidified, crushing his body completely.**

**"I guess it's time to look for another victim!" declared John before laughing happily.**

**"… Interesting…" just then, a voice came from behind the stone formation.**

**John stopped laughing, "Wha… what?"**

**Right in front of his eyes, his earth tomb crumbled with a thunderous echo, and behind it stood Greg, appearing ****unscathed; a rapier in his left hand, and a great sword in his right.**

**[_]**

**"Earth contraction… interesting move," a voice said behind Danny, startling him. He turned around and saw Marvin standing just three feet behind him, completely unharmed.**

**"So you contract the space in front of you, causing you to literally step through space towards your destination. Neat trick," Marvin continued, oblivious to the stares the other three gave him.**

**[_]**

**"How… how…" John kept repeating, disbelief dense in his voice.**

**"Chain Breaker cuts almost anything. Titan's grip grants strength." came the lazy reply.**

**[_]**

**"But how? No one has ever survived an attack like that." Danny asked in total astonishment.**

**"Oh that? It's a secret." Marvin said. Obviously, he had used his illusions to make Danny believe that he was hitting a person, when in fact he had been hitting nothing at all. A look at the tree would conform this, but Danny was too shocked to do so.**

**[_]**

**"Hey," Greg began.**

**John swallowed, "Wha… what?"**

**"If that was strong…" Greg said as his rapier changed into a green curved blade. He then shot forward at an amazing speed and slammed his great sword into John's stomach, the enchanted strength granted by said sword doing more than knock the wind out of his lungs.**

**As John's eyes rolled back into his sockets, he collapsed, thanks to the sudden shock of pain to his system, the last words he heard was that of Greg saying…**

**"… Then your guild is just pathetic."**

**[_]**

**"By the way Danny, before you so rudely interrupted me, I was going to say that the same rules applied to you." Marvin began as he took out a pair of tinted glasses and put them on.**

**"What rules?"**

**"You know, the one about 'not holding a grudge when you lose' thing?"**

**"I see. That won't be a pro–" Danny never got a word out before Marvin throw a card at him. He eyed the card curiously as it approached, and then…**

**Boom! It exploded in his face.**

**Marvin took the opportunity to pull out a card from his pocket and shouted the words, "Illusion Tarot card: Lightning storm!"**

**The skies immediately went darker then the night, and thunder could be heard overhand. A few moments later, bolts of electricity came rushing down onto the two beastmasters and their mounts, causing them to pass out immediately.**

**Danny stood there, terrified. Those bolts were… _huge_! The amount of power needed to generate such magic… just how powerful was this guy?!**

**He felt the hair behind his back stand up, and he immediately looked up at the sky.**

**"Oh, by the way Danny." Marvin said, causing a nervous Danny to look back down.**

**"I hate it when people interrupt me while I'm talking."**

**And with that, Danny's world went white, and the next thing he knew, he was unconscious. Oh he tried to dodge, but lightning travels at 220,000 kilometers per hour. By comparison, the muzzle velocity of a bullet from a high powered rifle is roughly around 1400 meters per hour.**

**Needless to say, he didn't stand a chance.**

**…**

**A few hours after the raid began all of manticores mages were defeated and tied up in front of the village.**

**Marvin and Greg were wondering around aimlessly while checking for any raiders who might have escaped when they were approached by a white haired elderly woman.**

**"Thank you for saving us, Marvin." she said in a rusty voice.**

**Due to her short stature, Marvin had to look down just to see her and said kindly, "No problem, ma'am."**

**He was just about to walk away when he noticed that the old lady had called his name, and he hadn't even given it to her.**

**Marvin turned around and asked warily, "Why did you call me that?"**

**"Oh, I'm sorry; it's just that you look so much like this kid I use to know who once lived not far from here… Such a pity, if he was still around he would be around your age now."**

**"Why isn't he still around, what happened to him?"**

**The old lady looked away with a painful expression on her face while she recalled that day, "It was horrible…"**

**…**

**"She said my family was murdered!" Marvin shouted.**

**"… I thought you knew about that…"**

**"My ENTIRE family, including me! She said that despite the fire, the wound marks were unmistakable; they were killed!"**

**"Calm down… She… she must have been lying… " Valkyrie desperately tried to calm Marvin down.**

**"Greg was there, HE SAID SHE WASN'T LYING!"**

**By now Marvin's face was red anger and his grip was tightening, causing Valkyrie to winch.**

**That caused Marvin to calm down a bit as he took a step back and looked away apologetically.**

**"… Greg said she wasn't lying; being a mercenary he can spot a lie a mile away. And I trust him because he never lies… and because I consider him the closest thing to family I have."**

** That last sentence caused Valkyrie's heart to ache, but she suppressed her feelings and instead asked, "What are you going to do now?"**

**For a moment Marvin just stood there unmoving, "I thought was I came here so that you could tell me it was a lie, but deep in my heart I knew; Lawrence told me he saved me from the fire… In truth, he started it, didn't he?"**

**Valkyrie turned away to avoid answering, but her silence was more than enough to answer him.**

**"How… how can you protect someone like that…?" Marvin asked, his voice trembling in rage.**

**"… He placed a curse on me, preventing me from opposing him." Valkyrie said.**

**Marvin was speechless, "… I, I didn't… I…"**

**Valkyrie smile sadly, "Don't worry; I didn't want you to know."**

**Silently she walked forward and gently cupped Marvin's hands in her own, causing Marvin to blush.**

_It's warm…_** was all he could think about.**

**"You… you want to avenge your family, don't you?" came the sudden enquiry.**

**Marvin blinked at the question; he had been thinking about this very question ever since he figured out what happened.**

**And in the end, he still couldn't come up with an answer.**

**"… It's never easy, is it; killing someone? Not that I'd know, I've never done it before."**

**Valkyrie shook her head, "No, it's not. No matter who they are or what they've done; a life is still a life, and it's always sad to someone when a person dies."**

**She took Marvin's face in her hands and looked him in the eye, "I can't help you, but I won't stand in your way, either… good luck."**

**Marvin nodded and walked away. As he was too far away, he didn't hear Valkyrie murmur to herself, "Kill him Marvin… kill him, for both our parents sake."**

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><p>[Imagine cool song]<p>

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><p>As always, please comment! And thanks for reading!<p> 


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